Right as Rain
by SaoirseParisa
Summary: One day, while sick in bed, Mary thinks about the good things in her life to pass the time. Birthday present for my awesome friend Durotos.


**A/N: This is a birthday present I wrote for Durotos, because she's awesome and nice and super great and wonderful and deserves all the love in the world. Happy birthday, Durotos!**

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One spring morning, Mary woke up feeling like garbage. Every single part of her body ached with pain, and sometimes she shivered like it was winter. Her nose was so stuffed, no air could possibly get in no matter how much she sniffed. Her eyes were red and puffy, watering for seemingly no reason, and surprisingly sensitive. Even having her bedroom light on was too much for her eyes to handle. She felt her forehead. It was hot like warm toast had popped out fresh from the toaster. A fever. Considering how her legs ached if she stood on her feet, she was obviously sick. Probably from the flu, or just a bad cold. She didn't feel like doing much of anything, so she just sat up and stayed in bed for the day.

Then again, there wasn't much need to go outside that day. A torrential rain drowned tiny Mineral Town, and Mary could hear the pattering and thrumming of raindrops against her windows. From how hard it was raining, she sometimes thought someone was dumping a pile of pebbles down on her roof non-stop, the theme song of spring. Mary smiled. Watching rain make puddles on the streets, raindrops making ripples that cut through the water's surfaces, the misty sprays dancing on the rooftops...always a pleasant sight to see.

Plus, rain pelting the glass proved to be great background music to read her books with. Good thing Mary kept a lot of books in her room. If she didn't have her beloved books, she was sure she'd go crazy from boredom from being stuck in her room. At least with reading, she could mentally travel to far away, sometimes non-existent lands. The topsy turvy, always changing Wonderland, down the rabbit hole where Alice fell into. The grass-scented pastures and red roads of Prince Edward Island, where talkative orphan Anne Shirley made her home. The exciting, enchanting, magical classes held in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The tall, cloud-piercing, thunderous Mt. Olympus, where Zeus and his fellow entourage of Greek Gods made their abode. Books provided great company. They never insulted her, judged her, deemed her unworthy as a person, took her to new worlds, and treated her as an equal, allowing her to open them up and expose the stories untold.

For a voracious reader like her, it filled her easily enchanted heart with joy, even while sick in bed, coughing and sneezing so much that her voice turned dry and raspy. But the best part of it all was sharing them with someone. For many years, Mary didn't have many people she could confide in, especially about her interests. Many girls her age thought reading books was juvenile or for nerds, preferring to focus on other things. Any time she rambled on about her favorite stories, most people she knew would quickly grow bored and leave right away. She never did get used to the pain that their leaving left behind. There was, however, one person who came into her life, and rather unexpectedly at that, who enjoyed hearing her talk about her favorite stories.

The blacksmith's grandson and apprentice, Gray, with strawberry blonde hair hidden under a baseball cap and eyes with as much blue as the ocean in summer. He had come to the library one day out of the blue, to escape his woes, and upon meeting Mary, they began to converse about their favorite books. His normally sullen, gloomy face suddenly lit up with joy when Mary knew of his favorite space operas and how she listened to his tales without judgment. It made Mary's heart soar. Finally, a friend she could confide in! Talking to him every day afterward, Mary felt as though she had entered a new land, as if a weight she had never known she carried had been lifted off her shoulders, and she felt light as a feather.

Gray visited the library every day when he had free time, always brightening Mary's day, especially after particularly bad days. He brought her so much happiness in such a short time, and he never seemed to know it. If she could make him smile and brighten his day a little, just like he did for her, then Mary was sure everybody would be happy.

It didn't matter if she was sick, angry, sad, sick, or anything. When Gray was around, bringing light to her day, even as she thought about him, she felt right as rain.


End file.
